friends, places, and late 70's technology

When I was born in 1976 we lived on Elm Street in New Bedford across the street from a green cement garage building that was some sort of hearse business.  The garage door would be open on most summer days.  I can still remember the smell of the exhaust coming through.  Looking out my front window I could commonly see the site of an old man - a hearse driver I assume, sitting in a chair on the sidewalk just outside the garage door smoking his cigarettes.  They were all friendly men.  I remember going in there once in a while and talking with the employees.  I thought the cars looked so cool.  I never new what they were for. 

Our house was a 2 story white house.  I was told it was a tenement house and my Uncle Vic used to live there with us.  I don't remember that.  I remember how I really loved the front porch.  It was a small covered porch with a grey floor.  When I was small the roof of that porch supported my baby swing.  That brought me joy.  As a child for some reason I enjoyed climbing on the wrong side of the railing and walking back and forth along the small, small ledge of the porch holding on to the railing.  How this didn't give my mother a heart attack, I'll never know.  Especially after I learned that when my brother was small he broke his arm doing the very same thing.  He was stuck there hanging there by his arm until my mother found him.  Luckily that never happened to me.   

My brother Scott was always into the new technical things.  He brought home our very first ever video camera.  One that you had to watch on the wheels on a film projector with no sound.  I loved when he'd make me the star of his shows.... which wasn't often.  I remember the first time I seen his new toy was when I was walking back and forth on the porch with my cousin Keely.  She enjoyed walking on the ledge too.  What the excitement was about that, I don't remember.  He filmed us walking back and forth.  I thought that was so cool.

He also had the film projector.  One time he rented some film projection movies for me from the library.  He set up the screen for me and everything.  I thought that was so amazing.  I wanted all of my toys to watch the movie with me.  I set up an entire room of toys facing the direction of the screen.  I didn't stop with anything, I didn't want anyone to miss out.  I even had my toy kitchen out watching the film.  It was non other than Winnie the Pooh.  I can still remember the song in my heart as it played and the joy that it brought me to see Pooh Bear that big dancing on the screen in my house. 

I lived in that house until I finished 1st grade.  I attended Hathaway school for Kindergarten and first grade.  I was a brownie.  I met one of my best friends in Kindergarten and I was so happy that she was also in brownies with me.  Her name was Marie White.  Our family always called the poor girl by her first and her last name as to distinguish that we were talking about HER and not my sister Marie.  It became habit and soon she was always Marie White.  Never just Marie, always Marie White.  She was my best friend.  My first sleep over was with Marie White.  She liked scary movies, I didn't.  To this day I have never seen even the 80's horror flicks that just about everyone has seen.  I've never watched Friday the 13th or any Freddy Krueger movies.  That was one thing I didn't like about staying over at Marie White's house.... the slight possibility that she'd go out and rent a scary movie.  I'd always go to sleep, but she'd still try to scare me.  She had a spooky voice she used to use to try to freak me out and tell me these legends and scary stories.  She would laugh and laugh as I'd cower in fear over the "Three fingered Willie!"  Sounds so silly now and I chuckle thinking about it, but I was scared. 

Her mother was awesome.  I just loved Mrs. White.  I don't know how many times I ever took a bath over there - but we'd stay at each other's houses for days so it was necessary at times.  I remember Mrs. White when Marie White got out of the tub and she dried her off laughing and being all silly.  Mrs. White naturally had a high pitched friendly voice.  So when she was singing it made us giggle even more.  When I got out of the tub she dried my hair the same way and I just laughed and laughed. 

Sometimes when I'd sleep over at Marie White's house we'd sleep in the living room on the floor.  Those were mostly our movie rental nights.  Sometimes we'd rent something good, others I'd just try to quickly fall asleep.  Mrs. White had the coolest clocks.  A cuckoo clock and a chiming grandfather type clock near the fire place.  I don't remember if the cuckoo clock actually "coo-ed" or not but I'll never forget the chime of their grandfather clock.  It had a deep Westminster chime.  Whenever we slept in the living room that clock would wake me up almost every hour.  It was a little annoying, but I still loved that clock.  It just felt so homey to me. 

Marie White and I had some really fun times.  I can't imagine what those times meant as far as her poor mother's suffering.  Poor Mrs. White took Marie White and I to the grocery store Shaw's.  Shaw's was remodeling so the store was a mess and some of the shelves were empty as they were waiting to restock with new items.  Marie White and I misbehaved terribly that day hiding in the shelves and running off on her poor mother.  Oh the migraines we must have given that poor sweet woman. 

We went on many errands with Mrs. White.  Many times to the mall, Anne and Hope, or other department store.  Marie White would pick out a toy every time and to be fair Mrs. White would always buy that toy for Marie but would also buy me that same toy.  She was so sweet. 

Mrs. White was a short small Portuguese woman.  A hard working mother and wife.  She had short, curly, dark hair and always wore a smile.  A strong Catholic woman always threatening Marie White with a "licken" if she didn't straighten up.  I love Mrs. White, she is a good woman. 

Marie White had the coolest grandpa ever.  He had so much energy for an old man.  He'd come over all excited.  Sometimes Marie White would get angry and jealous for him showing me attention too when I was there, but she was the true apple of his eye there was no doubting that.  His voice and vigor reminded me of no other than Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.  Marie White didn't call him grandpa - everyone always called him Buddy boy.  He was great.  We spent so much time together that Marie White's family felt so much like my family too.